House GOP plans to protect DoD from more cuts

The budget proposal House Republicans are planning to unveil next week will include provisions that would rescue the Defense Department from further budget cuts.

National Journal reported budget committee chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) proposal would eliminate the sequestration provisions of last year’s deficit deal, but only for DoD.

It was not yet clear how the Ryan budget would offset those cancelled cutbacks. He told Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta entitlement spending should be part of the budget conversation.

“House Republicans are continuing their efforts to reprioritize the savings called for under the Budget Control Act, because our troops and military families shouldn’t pay the price for Washington’s failure to take action,” Ryan said in a statement.

President Obama’s budget proposal also proposes to undo sequestration, though a mixture of governmentwide spending cuts and tax increases.

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This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily DoD Report. For more defense news, click here.

Tom Temin is the host of The Federal Drive, which airs from 6-9 a.m. on 1500 AM in the Washington, DC region and online everywhere. Tom has 30 years experience in journalism, mostly in technology markets. Before coming to Federal News Radio, he was a long-serving editor-in-chief of Government Computer News and Washington Technology magazines.